


Away

by darlingdany



Category: Sanders Sides
Genre: Gen, my first contribution to this fandom AHH
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-05
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-04-18 18:12:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14218863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darlingdany/pseuds/darlingdany
Summary: Virgil wasn't in his room when Thomas and the others went looking for him. So... where exactly was he, then?





	Away

The mindscape had more to offer than seemed possible.

Sure, there was Thomas’ apartment: the living room, overlooked by the kitchen, the stairs leading to the second floor, where each side had their own room and connected bathroom, which honestly, thank goodness, because if there was one bathroom to share amongst the four of them, well, they’d need a schedule because Roman’s morning routine was something that could not be rushed. 

Patton’s room had a door that led to Memory Lane. It wasn’t as messy as shown in the _Moving On_ videos; Patton had warned them, after all, but one couldn’t walk in without finding a piece or two of Thomas’ past. Memory Lane, however, was meant for trips. It was almost directly connected to the Dream Palace. On days that were worse than others, Patton often found himself wandering the various trails through Thomas’ happier days. At least, he did before they’d all reminded Patton that he didn't need to hide how he was feeling, and that they would always be there to listen. 

Roman’s room was the largest of them all, technically, because he had a bad habit of forgetting to close the doors into the Fantasy Realm. It wasn’t unusual for Roman to return to his room at the end of a long day spent elsewhere to find various creatures napping in his bed or chewing through his costumes. One of the four walls was comprised entirely of floor to ceiling windows and so the room was bathed in sunlight during the day, and as such, felt warm and cozy and inviting. Roman and Patton often lounged here together, playing boardgames or brainstorming ideas that even they knew were too out of reach, when there was enough downtime. 

Logan’s room was the very definition of ‘organized chaos.’ From a desk in each corner of the room, to the towering bookcases stuffed full of novels, to the chess tables and telescopes and chemistry stations. The ceiling, however, was what often drew the eye: a constantly shifting expanse of space; stars connected by the dots into constellations, swirling galaxies, yawning maws of black holes. Logan could tell you which shelf held which text, had a setup for each drawer in each desk, and knew where the only key to the Memory Archives was hidden. The door was unassuming and rarely unlocked. It was too easy to get lost in the rows of history. 

Virgil’s room, the others discovered the day he decided to duck out, felt small. It might have been the darker colors, or the lack of windows, or that the only window was covered by a dark colored curtain. There were spiderwebs but no spiders and Disney posters but not the nostalgia that often accompanied anything Disney. Afterwards, once Virgil had saved them, and the dark circles had vanished from under the other’s eyes, and things were looking considerably brighter, they would ask Virgil where he had been when they found his room empty. His thoughts had drifted to the padlocked door, wondering if they’d seen it, before he effortlessly deflected. 

Virgil had been sitting in a Starbucks with Remy. It was a fuzzy memory of the Starbucks nearest Thomas’ apartment. They were sat at a table close to the front, should Virgil need to escape out the door for whatever reason, each with a drink and a pastry. Remy’s wasn’t as complicated as usual, but it was still a Venti, and he was picking at his blueberry muffin, far more interested in what Virgil had to say. Virgil was halfway finished with his black coffee and hadn’t touched his danish. 

“You still haven’t told me how they’re doing!” Remy whined, finally relenting to Virgil’s unimpressed stare, and pushing his sunglasses to the top of his head. The bags under his eyes nearly rivaled Virgil’s. “I don’t get to see them as often! Well,” Remy paused to sip at his tea, “Roman and I work on dreams together and Patton’s always making sure I’m doing okay, but what about Logan? What’s he been up to?” When Virgil agreed to meet up with Remy, this was _not_ what he had expected. 

“They still think I’m the bad guy,” Virgil deadpanned, “we got turned into a cartoon last video—” 

“TFTI, by the way.” 

Virgil rolled his eyes, “Roman said everyone loves the villain, but let’s be real.” 

Remy waggled his eyebrows, “ _loves_ , huh?” 

“Shut up,” Virgil immediately shot back. “Logan might be warming up to me after our debate, I dunno, and Patton… well…”

“— is Patton,” Remy chimed in with Virgil, nodding. He’d been ready to demand more about the others, from the last kind of cookie Patton had baked, to Roman’s latest ridiculous idea, to whether or not Logan had updated his vocabulary cards, when Virgil jerked in his chair. 

“Shit, they’re calling me.” And it had looked like Virgil was ready to go, to sink out and find his spot at the bottom of the staircase, albeit reluctantly, when Remy’s hand shot forward to grab Virgil’s. He immediately recoiled, curling his arms against his chest. 

“Sorry, sorry!” Remy chanted, wrapping his hands back around his plastic cup. “Don’t think I forgot what you said. You wanted to quit. Are you gonna go back so quickly?” 

Virgil shifted uneasily, the feeling this time of being summoned accompanied by Roman’s over the top gestures. “It can’t be that big a deal, right?” Virgil asked, finally ripping into his danish, and stuffing a piece into his mouth. 

“Right!” Remy agreed, taking a bite of his muffin as if to show Virgil that was normal since they were in a Starbucks, after all, and that Virgil definitely wasn’t stress eating right now. 

There was another tug, from Patton now, and it was particularly difficult to ignore, because it was Patton, after all. Virgil raked a hand through his hair before shaking the bangs back into his eyes. He downed the rest of his coffee. 

“They’ll be fine without you for one video,” Remy reassured, rapping his knuckles against the table, “now, spill the tea! I wanna know, have Thomas and Roman got another Sleep short planned anytime soon?” 

And so the two talked awhile longer, about Thomas’ birthday and Roman’s struggle to find an original idea, before a new sensation had Virgil rocketing out of his seat. “They’re in my _room_ ,” he all but shouted. Remy ignored the way the lights in the café flickered and stood as well, slowly and quietly. 

“Girl!” Virgil’s wide eyed gaze found Remy, trying to obtain calm in the raised eyebrows, the uneven tilt of his smile. “It’s fine. Roman’s probably just after your _Nightmare_ posters. Or,” Remy planted his hands on his hips, “did you ever return Logan’s _Wonderland_ book?”

That seemed to snap Virgil out of it and he huffed, almost sheepish. “How do I look?” He asked, sarcastically, but Remy played along and gave him a once over. “Eyeshadow on fleek, intimidating as ever. Go teach ‘em a lesson on privacy, babe.” 

“I’m not your babe,” Virgil retorted, but there wasn’t any heat behind it. He gave Remy his signature two finger salute before sinking out. Remy took the leftover pastries and set a reminder in his phone to ask Virgil for all the details later.

**Author's Note:**

> *takes deep breath* *SCREAMS*
> 
> the only thing i've ever written for a fandom was a miraculous ladybug one shot but HERE WE GO.  
> i'm really nervous about this but also really proud so HAVE IT.  
> cross posted to my sanders sides tumblr, notveryglittery!  
> feedback is appreciated :'D
> 
> shout out to nick, faye, kay, and juniper for inspiring this!!


End file.
